Nashville Roots Songwriter Jen Starsinic's New Album 'The Flood and the Fire'

Young fiddler and songwriter Jen Starsinic may have gotten her start as a fourteen year old bluegrass fiddler busking on a street corner, and she may have gotten her training at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, and she may be touring with some of the biggest roots bands in the land (David Mayfield Parade), but for her this immersion in American roots music stems from a formative experience at Clifftop, West Virginia’s Appalachian Stringband Festival. Looking for the roots of the bluegrass music she grew up playing, Jen found a different kind of music-making at Clifftop. “I discovered an older, purer, more satisfying way of experiencing music that I had never experienced before.” The kind of open collaboration and trance-like communal music making that’s the hallmark of Clifftop is at the heart of Jen’s music today, and the key to her anticipated debut album The Flood and the Fire. Jen wrote every song on the new album, liberally tapping into her love of Americana, bluegrass, country duets, folk rock, and old-school twang. On the album she combines a beautiful voice, powerful guitar, and virtuosic fiddle skills with her stunning talent as a songwriter. And yet the album doesn’t feel like anything created by your typical “singer-songwriter.” It feels more like a celebration of the way music draws people closer together, forming new friendships with each song.

A Pennsylvania native transplanted to the center of the Nashville scene, Jen is joined on The Flood and the Fire by a host of notable musician and friends from across the US. David Mayfield himself lends his vocals, and Charlie Rose and Eric Law, with whom Jen has collaborated before, bring their pedal steel and cello. Canadian banjo player Allison de Groot of the band Oh My Darling joins in on the song “Six-Foot-Three”, and Molly Tuttle, of the Tuttles with AJ Lee, brings her guitar to the song “Ragdolls”. The album was produced by fellow Berklee grad Brady Custis, and recorded in Somerville, MA at a home studio in August (in 100 degree weather with no air conditioning and no fans!). You can hear the vibrant intimacy of the moment in Jen’s music, and you can hear this is the kind of risk-taking music-making that can only be done with the help of great friends and a strong community.

The Flood and the Fire is a beautiful mixture of modern songwriting and American roots music. The first number, “Time to Lose”, opens with folk-pop vocals reminiscent of Lisa Loeb or Kimya Dawson, but the powerhouse guitar and banjo backup propel it to something far more. The same is true of track four, “Six-Foot-Three”; it’s a reminder that the roots music need not stay stuck in the past. The Flood and the Fire shows Jen’s skill and versatility in switching musical modes. “The Only One Who Can Break a Heart” is a perfect honky-tonk tear-jerker worthy of Pasty Cline, but it is followed by the haunting “It’s a Foreign Thing”, performed with solo voice and fiddle. It’s a touching lament in a performance that brings to mind the playing of Bruce Molsky.

Oh some people are made for leaving, I learned from an early time
     Some bonds are born of silver and some are sewn of twine
     It’s a foreign thing, it’s a foreign thing—a love to keep me near
     They come and stay but leave and fade to some forgotten year

The Flood and the Fire is a marriage of old and new, a blend of harmony and poetry, and the debut of a powerful new voice in American folk music. 

 

LONESOME SHACK'S MORE PRIMITIVE IS OUT ON LTD. EDITION VINYL, CD & DIGITAL VIA ALIVE NATURALSOUND RECORDS

More Primitive finds Seattle’s Lonesome Shack exploring the depths of boogie and country blues. The trio’s sound is raw and immediate with finger-picked guitar lines, soulful crooning and big danceable grooves. Ben Todd’s introspective lyrics take the American blues tradition to a new level, examining personal history, loss of friends and a burning desire to get to the primitive core of life.

The band began in New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness where Ben Todd hunkered down in the shack he built and studied the music of the American folk and blues lineage. In 2008 Todd joined up with drummer Kristian Garrard in Seattle, and in 2011 bassist Luke Bergman became the third member.

Lonesome Shack's More Primitive is out now on CD, digital and limited edition vinyl through Alive Naturalsound Records.

COLLIN HERRING'S NEW ALBUM "SOME KNIVES" IS AVAILABLE NOW

Some Knives is Collin Herring's fifth studio effort, yet it's his first in nearly five years. "This album has been done for a lot longer than it seems," the Texas singer-songwriter admits. "Most of the process was coordinating dates and small sessions here and there. Producer and drummer Matt Pence (Centro-matic) was able to hear the demos and the rest was just making it happen. We liked working with Matt and after some discussion about the initial recordings, it was a no brainer that he was going to mix this record as well. We didn't want anything lost in translation on this project."

Herring & Pence were joined in the studio with Jeremy Hull on bass and the singer-songwriter's father, Ben Roi Herring, on keyboards, pedal steel and backing vocals. "I like that the credits on this album are short. I like small groups," Herring states. "There was no 'that sounded good' and then re-recording it at a later date. We all just played our parts."

One of the underlying influences of the album occurred unintentionally during the sessions. As Herring explains, "During the recording process my Dad got cancer and beat it (Remission). Good surgeon and good cannabis oil. There was a point when Dad was laying down the pedal steel on one of the songs that I had to go outside and take a walk. It was emotional. While he was recording he looked up at me with this look on his face that told me his entire story. A look that said this is for you. This note. All these notes. All these bends. Everything that's weaving around. This is life and it's not over yet."

"We kept the health stuff to ourselves but I'd be lying if I didn't say it had some impact. Most of the recording was done when we found out but I still feel like, every now and then, that some of the emotional shadows crept onto the recordings."

Some Knives is, in fact, an emotional ride, yet it's a beautiful trip not only shrouded with dark corners, doubt and fear, but also dappled with light and a shimmering sense of hope throughout. These 11 moving tracks, that stylistically traverse through rock, alt.country and even touches of psychedelia, should prove what regional Texas press has already been hailing as both "the torchbearer for alt.country" and "the next big thing."

FOR MORE INFO ON COLLIN HERRING:
http://www.collinherring.com

https://www.facebook.com/collinherringmusic

Rustic, Refined, Lew Card Releases Low Country Hi-Fi

Lew Card celebrates the release of Low Country Hi-Fi, a recording which draws on Card’s 20-plus years as a picker, songwriter and singer. He has a style that comes from where jug band music meets country blues. Lew’s songs are based on hand-me-down quality of southern mystique presented through everyday life. He will celebrate the release of his recording on Saturday, June 7, at the Strange Brew - Lounge Side from 5-6:30 p.m. along with Austin campadres drummer Josh Vernier, bassist Kevin Hennessy, slide-guitarist Nate Mayes, and pianist Charlie Pierce. More info: StrangeBrewaustin.com

Raised in Chattanooga, Lew, upon graduating from MTSU with a Recording Industry Degree in Production, moved to Austin. Over the last ten years Lew has played many of the Austin originals clubs with his band, The Gun Hands, including the White Horse, Moose Lodge, Continental Club, as well as playing mandolin at Ginny's Little Longhorn with Peewee Moore, and the Mean Eyed Cat with Reid Wilson & His So-Called Friends.

With Low Country Hi-Fi the Austinite has branched out from the bands he has led since relocating here. “I’ve written hundreds of songs,” Lew says. “Being in bands for so long, I saw the process of what was working and what wasn’t working and wanted to try my own hand.” That means fewer banjos, more guitar leads and small, skin-run drum kits. “I think there are only six or eight cymbal crashes on the whole record,” Card reveals. “Less is more.” It’s all rustic, but without a cheap feel, refined but without too much polish.

Low Country Hi-Fi is a collection of nine songs born without a true timestamp. Lew's solo album highlights his writing backed with his outstanding sensibilities on the guitar. Recorded and mixed by James Stevens at EAR Studio in Austin, Low Country Hi-Fi reflects a subtle style where a string band meets the county blues.

Further down the road Lew is playing around at:
June  5  In-store @LoneStarMusic, Gruene, 6:30pm
June 11 @RattleInn, Austin, 7:30pm
June 19 @MeanEyedCat, Austin, 8pm
June 25 @KDRP's Live @Guero's Taco Bar, Austin, 6pm
June 27 @Sam'sTownpoint, Austin, 8pm
July   9  @EvangelineCafe, Austin, 7pm

NO SLEEP RECORDS WELCOMES DREW THOMSON TO THE FAMILY; NEW EP OUT JUNE 24TH

Huntington Beach based No Sleep Records is proud to welcome Canadian singer-songwriter, Single Mothers’ vocalist and part-time gold prospector Drew Thomson to the label’s growing family. The punk troubadour will release his new self-titled EP on June 24th.

"”Saturday Night/Sunday Morning” is the first song I got to take a bit of time recording and have friends play on, opposed to just walking into a studio with an acoustic, throwing down one or two takes and calling it after 15 minutes,” Thomson explains. “It was recorded and produced by Joby J Ford and I'm really happy with how it turned out."

Between quitting and then re-joining his revered punk band Single Mothers – Drew Thomson moved to a small town called Swastika in Northern Ontario to be a Gold Prospector. Without a band, and with many long days and nights camping alone, there was plenty of time to sit around – strum a guitar and write songs.

In 2013 he released a small batch of acoustic songs called Honesty is a Confidence Problem via Jeremy Bolm's label Secret Voice and began playing solo shows. Thomson ended up leaving gold prospecting to re-join his band Single Mothers, but a lot of those nights stayed with him, strumming a guitar – writing songs. These are some of those songs.

"This EP is my second of what I hope will be many over the next few years, moving in one direction or another - and I couldn't be happier working with the labels I've been lucky enough to release with so far,” Thomson adds. “This new step with No Sleep is really exciting, and I'll have my first LP out with them later this year."

Miss Shevaughn & Yuma Wray - Drifter's Compass

From the album: Lean Into the Wind

Mary Sarah Bridges Album Featuring Superstar Duets to be Released by Cleopatra Records on July 8th, 2014

On July 8th, 2014, Cleopatra Records will be releasing the debut album Bridges by Country newcomer Mary Sarah. On her new album Bridges, 18-year-old singer and songwriter Mary Sarah duets with some of country music’s biggest names on 12 captivating songs. Amazed by the Texas ingénue’s voice and talent, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Vince Gill, the Oak Ridge Boys, the late Ray Price and others all signed on to sing with Mary Sarah on their most iconic hits. Dolly’s “Jolene,” Willie’s “Crazy” and Merle’s “The Fightin’ Side of Me” are just a few of the songs interpreted by Mary Sarah and her A-list collaborators. 

Produced by Kent Wells, Dolly Parton's grammy nominated producer, and overseen by executive producer Freddy Powers, who helped Mary Sarah assemble her dream collaborators, Bridges was moved along by the singer’s keen use of social media. “I’ve been singing since I was 8 years old, touring and posting my performances on YouTube,” says Mary Sarah, who already has amassed 80k+ followers on Twitter. “One day I got a tweet from the Oak Ridge Boys, who asked me to sing at their concert that night acapella impromtu. It was incredible. My love of the legends of country music grew, and that’s how this project was born.” The endorsements didn’t stop there, as Willie Nelson himself agrees that “Mary Sarah is a beautiful young lady with a beautiful voice”.

Now, Mary Sarah is ready for country fans to hear it and connect those who love traditional country with those who follow today’s more polished sound. “I see Bridges as something that spans now and then,” she says, “and brings that music back over to this generation.” Originally scheduled for a May 13th independent release, Cleopatra Records involvement came thru a recommendation to Mary Sarah’s team from none other than the Oak Ridge Boys, who’s current album “Boys Night Out” is enjoying success thru its release on the Cleopatra Records label. Says Cleopatra Records VP/General Manager Tim Yasui, “We couldn’t let this opportunity to work with such an exciting young artist slip away and we felt that given the historic nature of the project a much larger reaching release was worth moving the street date to get it into more fans’ hands. This is a win-win for all her fans and country music at large to have a much wider distribution in place.”

Bridges  
Track Listing:
1. Jolene (feat. Dolly Parton)

2. Crazy (feat. Willie Nelson)

3. Fightin’ Side of Me (feat. Merle Haggard)

4. Heartaches By The Number (feat. Ray Price)

5. Go Rest High On That Mountain (feat. Vince Gill)

6. Dream On (feat. The Oak Ridge Boys)

7. Texas, When I Die (feat. Tanya Tucker)

8. Rose Garden (feat. Lynn Anderson)

9. What A Difference You’ve Made In My Life (feat. Ronnie Milsap)

10. Where The Boys Are (feat. Neil Sedaka)

Bonus Cuts

11. My Great Escape (feat. John Rich and Big Kenny)

12. All I Wanna Do Is Sing My Song (feat. Freddy Powers)

13. I’m Sorry

Donald McCrea - Migration

Donald McCrea explores America through music and photography with MIGRATION.

Migration: Lost and Found in America  

SETH WALKER TO RELEASE SKY STILL BLUE ON JUNE 10 VIA ROYAL POTATO FAMILY

Revered roots music troubadour Seth Walker recently took up residency in New Orleans. Upon relocating to the Big Easy, the North Carolina-native completed his rounds of the Holy Trinity of southern U.S. music cities. His journey began in Austin where he fast became a staple of the Texas blues scene. He’d later shuffle off to Nashville where he’d absorb the cosmopolitan twang of its storytelling tradition. Clearly, however, it is the influence of his current NOLA home with its funky melting-pot swagger that inspired the gospel-soaked fervor and gritty guitar burn at the core of his latest album, Sky Still Blue, due June 10 from The Royal Potato Family.

Abetted by producer Oliver Wood (The Wood Brothers), Walker revels in the devil-on-my-trail grit and longing blue notes that make this latest collection of 11 songs resonate so convincingly. Yet, as Walker's fans have come to expect, there's always a sweet melody, a turn of phrase wrapped in a wink-and-a-smile or an undeniable hook close at hand.

"All the moves I've made have been so that I can be around new influences centered around music," Walker says. "I've always loved New Orleans, and it definitely brought back a bit of the rough edge that got a little spit-shined on the albums that I did in Nashville. This one's got some gristle on it, some push and pull, some funky stuff, and some of that Caribbean influence that New Orleans has."

The seed for Sky Still Blue was planted with five songs co-written with Oliver Wood while Walker was on tour with the Wood Brothers. The rough-hewn lover's lament "Easy Come, Easy Go;" the intimate, inspirational ballad "Grab Ahold;" the shuffling seize-the-day anthem "Tomorrow;" the organ-soaked blues moan "High Wire;" and the hopeful, intimate closing track "Way Too Far." In their diversity and directness, these tunes served as a template for the album as a whole, fleshed out by the pair's continued collaboration in the studio.

"Oliver and I both come from a similar place stylistically, which obviously helps when you're trying to communicate," Walker says. "I love the fact that his songwriting is not so calculated, and it really worked with where I wanted to go. As a producer he was the perfect combination of having his ears and his heart on the songs while letting things go organically. He didn't produce with an iron fist; he was just one of us."

Sky Still Blue was recorded at Zac Brown's Southern Ground Studios, the Wood Brothers' home base in Nashville, and fellow Brothers Chris Wood (also of Medeski Martin & Wood) and Jano Rix made crucial contributions, joining Walker's longtime band-mates, bassist Steve Mackey and drummer Derrek Phillips. "It was essentially the six of us musically roping this thing," Walker says. "We all worked great together, and the next thing you knew, we had a record."

While that camaraderie is evident in the songs' taut grooves and relaxed atmosphere, Walker's dexterous guitar work seizes the attention with its soulful lines and serrated edge. His commanding fretwork captures the album's mood of forlorn optimism, encapsulated in its deceptively upbeat title. Sky Still Blue is drawn from the melancholy lyrics of "High Wire": "If it pours down on you and the sky is still blue / It might be me crying from my high wire." As Walker admits, "It is optimistic phrase - but it's kind of a lonesome image."

Walker didn't have much opportunity to be lonesome as a child growing up on a two-family commune in rural North Carolina. His parents were both classical musicians, and his first axe was the cello, not the guitar. The tastes of the commune's other residents ran more to Texas country music, so his youth was filled with the sounds of Mozart and Beethoven coexisting with Jerry Jeff Walker and Willie Nelson.

Walker discovered the guitar in college and never looked back. "I was just eaten up with it, man," he says, his enthusiasm still evident. "I was just crazy for it. I immediately gravitated to the blues, but as I played I started to lean towards the uptown side, the jazzier side, and I think that probably has something to do with my classical training."

His uncle Landon Walker was a jazz bassist and blues DJ on Jacksonville, Florida radio station WJCT, and would mail tapes to his nephew on a regular basis. "It covered the whole gamut of blues," Walker recalls, "from the Piedmont stuff - Reverend Gary Davis, Blind Willie McTell and Blind Blake - to the Chicago stuff - Muddy Waters and Robert Nighthawk - and a lot of Texas stuff - Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, T-Bone Walker, Lightnin' Hopkins. But the guys in my dorm room were listening to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, so that blues-rock sound definitely got my attention. It seemed a lot more interesting than going to school, so there went my education."

Walker set out for Jacksonville with dreams of stardom ("I ended up playing in a Grateful Dead cover band," he says ruefully), but before long realized that he needed to relocate to a more music-rich hub. He landed in Austin in 1995 and has remained in legendarily musical metropolises ever since.

The albums he's made since then have consistently vaulted him into the Top 20 of the Americana charts and gleaned praise from NPR, American Songwriter, No Depression and Blues Revue, among others. He's toured the world as a headliner as well as opening for The Mavericks, The Wood Brothers, Raul Malo, Paul Thorn and Ruthie Foster, among others. It's all of these experiences and more that leave their well-traveled traces throughout these 11 songs at hand. Steeped in a rich musical heritage, Sky Still Blue is a masterful work conveyed by means of Walker's expressive, soul-burnished voice, agile guitar artistry and impeccable southern songwriting, all of which have garnered him a reputation as one of the most acclaimed modern roots artists in the country over the last decade.

Blair Dunlop - House of Jacks

 'House of Jacks' is the highly anticipated second album by the award-winning British singer, songwriter and guitarist Blair Dunlop. 2012's achingly beautiful 'Blight & Blossom', one of the year's best folk albums, established Blair as an artist with an exciting career ahead and led to him receiving the Horizon Award at the 2013 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

'House of Jacks' more than lives up to that promise; a collection of beautifully crafted songs that are influenced, but not confined, by his folk roots. Whereas 'Blight & Blossom' was deliberately light in its production, on 'House of Jacks' Blair's trademark guitar styling is enriched with a broader palette of instruments to create a more contemporary sound and a very special record.

Blair Dunlop - 'House of Jacks' Released on 26th May 2014

True North Blazes a New Trail in Bluegrass

We were now about to penetrate a country at least two thousand miles in width, on which the foot of civilized man had never trod,” reflected Meriwether Lewis on entering the Pacific Northwest. “The good or evil it had in store for us was for experiment yet to determine.” With these words Lewis set forth the cultural foundation of the Pacific Northwest: a drive to explore and to tread further. It’s a cue taken seriously by Pacific Northwest indie-bluegrass quartet TRUE NORTH on their most recent release, ELSEBOUND, an American roots exploration of the unknown territory of love and loss.

Hailing from Salem, Oregon, True North is made up of two married couples: principle songwriter Kristen Grainger & Dan Wetzel, and Dale Adkins & Suzanne Pearce Adkins. The songs on their newest album, Elsebound, lay a roots music foundation so smooth and solid you could just about pitch a tent and call it home.

All seasoned bluegrass musicians, True North are anything but showy. Their skill lies in their ability to make complex instrumentation sound effortless, exemplifying the pinnacle of modern bluegrass. “What many groups lose in the fire of lightning-fast solos, True North exemplifies with style and artistry,” says roots music writer and No Depression editor Kim Ruehl. Their arrangements are woven together with Grainger’s poetic and visual lyrics, giving the songs a rare sense of emotional transcendence and power that grabs the heart and pulls it out to sea like the mighty Columbia River. Grainger’s songwriting and songcraft has garnered top honors at Wintergrass, and finalist spots at Telluride Bluegrass Festival and Kerrville Folk Festival song competitions.

Elsebound begins with Dan Wetzel’s banjo, a crisp yet gentle tone that opens up an expanse like that which once stood before Lewis & Clark, soon entered by Grainger’s vocals. On “Rattlin’ Bones,” Grainger’s smooth voice invites like a siren to the deep, tight, underlying power of the Adkins’ bass and guitar. And while true to their bluegrass traditions, True North aren’t afraid to fold popular work into their music, having been known to reimagine rock songs with their unique musical perspective during live performances, or referencing the Beatles in Elsebound’s “Be Here Now,” a heartfelt song chronicling the story of two lovers from their honeymoon until death. Closing out the album is the sublime “Acceptance,” an original tune by Grainger, in which repeated listens reveal layer after layer of complex instrumentation so well crafted you’re convinced you’ve known this song since you were a kid, but had simply forgotten it until now.

 

True North blaze new territory in contemporary bluegrass, not trying to reinvent the wheel, but simply traveling a bit further than others might dare to go. With every chord change they take another step deeper into the frontier. With one listen to Elsebound, you’ll want to see where True North go next.

Jeremy Pinnell - The Way Country Sounds from New Album OH/KY

The songs of Northern Kentucky native Jeremy Pinnell (RIYL Ray Price, Wayne Hancock) have received the kind of glowing acclaim that one might perceive as hyperbole … until one actually hears them.

With bands like The Light Wires, The Great Depression and The Brothers and The Sisters, Pinnell has proven himself an impossible-to-ignore songwriter who pours every ounce of soul into his music. Much of his music’s impact comes down to what those around him call “The Voice,” a magnetic vocal presence that is riveting to its core.

For the past few years, Pinnell has been working his songs out with Honky Tonk band the 55’s backing him (a collection of top-notch pro players from around the OH/KY area). Pinnell has explored various areas of Americana music in his past work, but with the 55’s he goes full-on old-school Country. As he shows on his new album, OH/KY (credited just to Pinnell, but featuring backing from the 55’s), the genre is a perfect fit for his aching, longing songs. OH/KY is the kind of album that purists will appreciate, but you don’t need to be a Country music aficionado to enjoy it — the songwriting really transcends genres. Hell, OH/KY could even turn a dedicated Country music hater.

The music on OH/KY never strays from the trad Country roadmap, in both song structure and sound, with note-perfect electric guitar twang and sublime pedal-steel sunset licks streaking across the tracks. With 10 mostly mid-tempo ballads that would make George Jones proud, Pinnell bares his soul and then some. According to the press materials, the album tells the story of Pinnell’s life over the past two decades. That story is one of heartbreak and pain, but there is also more of a sense of hopefulness on OH/KY than on releases from Pinnell’s previous bands.  

John Hartford Memorial Festival Announces Songwriting Contest Winners

The John Hartford Memorial Festival has announced the winners of their 2nd Annual John Hartford Songwriting Contest. The top three winners will receive two passes to the festival and perform their original song on the main stage on Friday, May 30. “These songs were all very well crafted and extremely difficult to score,” said Ernie Hill, contest organizer. “We are ecstatic to see the influence that John Hartford has had in every one of these fine songs. I've scored many songwriting contests over the years. Our scorers for this year’s contest agreed that the submissions were all very good in creativity and melodic quality.”

The winners submitted original songs that either mentioned John Hartford or one of his song titles in the body of the song. Contestants were scored according to content, not performance or recording quality. This year’s top seven songwriting contest winners are:

 

1st place: Jeff Daugherty - “Dear John”
2nd place: Wes Duffy - “Hartland”
3rd place: Thomas Poley - “Radio John”
4th place: Jeremy Francis - “Thinking About John Hartford”
5th place: Will Kimble - “Sternwheeler Blues”
6th place: Jaybone Bell - “Ode to the River Man”
7th place: Korah Winn - “Chance He Had”

“The purpose of the John Hartford Songwriting Contest is to provide a fun and rewarding activity for songwriters and the festival attendees while furthering the preservation of the legacy of John Hartford and his music,” said Ernie. The winners were chosen by a panel of six scorers who graded each song by a pre-determined set of guidelines and criteria. “We prefer to use the term ‘scorer’ instead of ‘judge’ for our contest,” Ernie shared. “We believe that in art and music, the term ‘judge’ is not applicable to a person's work of art. So we award points for originality, melody, and content, and the best score wins.”

They require each writer to write a song using John Hartford's name or a song title that appeared on one of his albums. “My hope is that each songwriter who steps up to the challenge will study the music of John Hartford, which would lead them to discover volumes of printed information, opinions, and music, and that they will discover the connection between the music they play and the root from which it was directly or indirectly influenced, namely, by the Father of New Grass, John Hartford,” Ernie explained.

“This contest will spread the legacy and music of John Hartford, like the wake of a stern-wheel steamboat on the Mississippi River, into the noggins of every one that it reaches,” he continued. “Thanks to cyberspace, we can easily spread our intent, which is to celebrate, educate, and share the music, life, and legacy of one of Americana music's most beloved trend setting, genre-busting personalities, the late John Hartford.”

First place winner, Jeff Daugherty, is from Cheyenne, WY, and is a massage therapist and musician.  The second place winner, Wes Duffy, is from Peoria, IL, and is a decorative floor and wall artist, and musician. The third place winner, Thomas Poley, is from Tucson, AZ and is in heavy-equipment sales and plays music as a hobby.

“Hartford's influence did not come until I was late in my teens,” said Jeff Daugherty. “I admire his creativity and unique, fun-loving personality most of all. His words have been there skipping beside me on the best of days, as well as holding my hand through the dark times. Being able to share this song, which Mr. Hartford definitely helped me write, on stage at Bean Blossom as the winning song is truly beyond words for me” he said.

“I first heard John Hartford on the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour,” said Tomas Poley. “Through the years, I've collected almost all of John's vinyl releases. John's success as a somewhat unconventional writer inspires me a lot to do things the way I feel them and not worry about conventional expectations,” he said.

“I was deeply moved by the creativity of all of the songwriters,” said Ernie. “Some wrote stories about John Hartford or the John Hartford Memorial Festival. Some used a song title that appeared on one of John Hartford's records and built a song around that title. Each of our 22 contestants did outstanding work,” he concluded. 

You can listen to the all of contestant’s songs, including last year’s contestants, on the festival website jukebox at www.johnhartfordmemfest.com.

Cara Dillon - Jacket So Blue

Scenic Route to Alaska to Release Sophomore Album June 6th

 Canadian indie-folk group Scenic Route to Alaska are releasing their sophomore album Warrington June 6, 2014. Inspired by lead singer Trevor Mann's English war bride grandmother, Dorothy, this deceptively cheery indie-folk album puts an optimistic spin on dealing with love and loss.

Growing up together in Edmonton, AB, Trevor Mann (lead vocals and guitar), Murray Wood (bass) and Shea Connor (drums and vocals), have been friends for as long as they can remember. When they were first introduced to music, it wasn’t long before they had formed a band and began practicing together.

They started out playing rhythm and blues, and rock and roll covers for hall shows and weddings but it wasn’t long before they were gaining demand around town. After several years of this and having performed at nearly every venue in Edmonton, the trio finally made their move to create Scenic Route to Alaska in the summer of 2010.

Filled with new direction and inspiration, Scenic Route to Alaska quickly developed their indie-folk rock sound as the trio shaped Mann’s new material into a unified concept, releasing an EP and their debut album, as well as performing in numerous festivals. For the first few years, they performed and recorded long-distance, as Wood studied studied jazz double bass performance at McGill University in Montreal.

Their sophomore album Warrington, recorded by Brad Smith and produced by Jay Sparrow in Edmonton, builds on their distinctive sound, and captures the positive energy that the trio brings to their live performance. It's also the first album recorded after the trio have been reunited in their hometown.

Warrington will be available digitally and physically June 6, 2014. Scenic Route to Alaska will also be playing several summer festivals this summer throughout Canada in support of their release.

Eric Lambert to Perform and Host Guitar Workshop at 4th Annual John Hartford Memorial Festival

The John Hartford Memorial Festival is quickly approaching, taking place May 29-31 at the historic Bill Monroe Music Park & Campground in scenic Bean Blossom, IN. Heading into its fourth year, the festival is on a mission to preserve and continue the legacy, music, and ideals of John Hartford; one of America’s most beloved songwriters, performers, and musicians.

The three-day, family-friendly event features performances from 50 Americana/Roots bands on three stages throughout the day and night, with campground jamming, a songwriting contest, an old-time fiddle contest, community Chompdown breakfast, kids tent and activities, music workshops, and John Hartford storytelling.

Eric Lambert & Friends will be returning to perform a main stage set at this great festival on Thursday, May 29 at 3:15 pm.  They will be part of an outstanding line-up that includes Peter Rowan, Pokey LaFarge, Pert Near Sandstone, Jamie Hartford and Friends, Larry and Jenny Keel, Danny Barnes, Great American Taxi, The HillBenders, Rumpke Mountain Boys, Bawn in the Mash, Mike Compton, Leroy Troy, and many more.

“I'm very excited and honored to be performing at the John Hartford Memorial Festival once again,” said Eric. “John has influenced me because he dared to be different and could not be pigeon holed into a category. He gave permission to be myself,” he shared. “I really look forward to the pickin’ opportunities we'll have with the amazing and diverse group of musicians performing at the festival. It's the most fun I'll have all season.”

New to this year’s festival are music workshops. Eric will be hosting the guitar workshop on Saturday, May 30 at 1 pm. Festival attendees are encouraged to bring their guitar and join in. “My guitar workshop will closely follow my 123 Bluegrass DVD,” he said. “Pickers can expect me to answer questions and demonstrate different types of picking techniques. It will be interactive, audience-friendly, and lots of fun!”

Specializing in the fiery art of flatpicking, Eric has built a career writing, performing, recording, and teaching Americana music in the Chicago area and beyond. Traces of rock, folk, bluegrass, country, and blues can be found in his music, which is delivered with energy, soul and inspiration. Learn more about Eric Lambert at www.ericlambert.com. Learn more about the John Hartford Memorial Festival and purchase tickets at www.johnhartfordmemfest.com.

Daena Jay - What You Always Wanted

Daena Jay recently debuted a new live video for "What You Always Wanted", on Free Bike Valet. Filmed live overlooking the city lights of Los Angeles, the video showcases the raw power and emotion of Daena's voice and songwriting.



Once an arcane writer, Daena Jay launched onto the Los Angeles singer-songwriter scene in 2010 after a chance encounter with producer/songwriter Bobby Hartry. That meeting eventually led to a collaboration resulting in their Emmy-nominated song ‘Home Again’ and multiple network television placements for their songs ‘This Could Be’ and ‘Fall Down’.

Originally from South Africa, this young writer with an old soul, has been shaped by many home-cities around the world that captured her spirit and imagination, including London, Durban, Cape Town, Perth, and LA. Stories of life and love and loss have made their way to Daena who writes as a true outlet of creative expression. 

John Fullbright Returns to the Bugle Boy to Celebrate the Release of His New Album, Songs.

 John Fullbright the 2012 Recipient of the Bugle Boy Founder's Choice Talent Trust Award, returns to the Bugle Boy to celebrate the release of his new album, Songs.

A lot has happened to John Fullbright since he won the 2012 Bugle Boy Talent Trust Award. He used the proceeds of the award to help fund and promote his first studio album, From the Ground Up.

The album was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Americana Album category. Subsequently, Fullbright performed at SXSW, played the main stage at the Kerrville Folk Festival and at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival's Pastures of Plenty main stage.

Fullbright also performed at a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tribute concert honoring Chuck Berry’

He received the ASCAP Harold Adamson Lyric Award at the 17th Annual ASCAP Foundation Awards Ceremony.

Fullbright was also a featured performer at the 12th Annual Americana Music Association awards show in Nashville, where he was a nominee in the Emerging Artist of the Year category. NPR hailed him as one of the 10 Artists You Should Have Known in 2012, saying “it’s not every day a new artist…earns comparisons to great songwriters like Townes Van Zandt and Randy Newman, but Fullbright’s music makes sense in such lofty company.”

Fullbright makes a triumphant return to the Bugle Boy Friday, May 16 at 8pm to celebrate the release of his sophomore album, Songs.




In his review for the Wall Street Journal, Jim Fusilli wrote, "Songs is a warm, winning and plainspoken Americana album that builds on the authority and charm of From the Ground Up not by musical-muscle flexing, but by its clarity and simmering intensity."

 thebugleboy.org

Songs

Betty Soo - I Called Your Number Last Night

The Quiet American's Rural Oregon Roots

Oregon duo The Quiet American named their new album Songs from a Rocking Chair in anticipation of the biggest event in their lives: the birth of their new baby! With a little boy on the way, their cozy home in Hood River along the picturesque Columbia River Gorge is filling up with music and songs and family. Nestling into this home, Songs from a Rocking Chair is living room music, the kind of music that people used to play for their family after dinner or on Sundays. With acoustic instruments and a broad selection of traditional and original songs, The Quiet American paints a portrait of home and family.

The Quiet American is husband and wife duo, Aaron and Nicole Keim. Their music incorporates ballads, banjo breakdowns, raggy choruses, gospel duets and other dusty Americana gems, all delivered on a wide variety of acoustic instruments, some of which Aaron built himself. Before forming The Quiet American, Aaron was known for his work with the well-loved Colorado roots band Boulder Acoustic Society. Over 8 years, the band built a passionately loyal following, but Aaron found that their diverse sound was keeping him from his passion for old time folk music. In a quest to get “back to basics,” he turned inwards, moving to the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon to work as a luthier for Mya-Moe Ukuleles. Nicole, who is a musician and artist, embraced the chance to sing and play with Aaron, as they re-dedicated themselves to roots music and to a new life together. This home-made, hand-crafted lifestyle created a new sound for their music, drawing them closer to the traditions that first inspired them. This is homesteading music, but don’t let the bucolic nostalgia obscure the fact that it takes a lot of talent and taste to make roots music sound this simple and this beautiful.

Levellers - Dog Train

Chicago Songstress Liz Chidester's Debut Album People Pumping Pedals

Chicago-based singer-songwriter Liz Chidester released her debut album People Pumping Pedals in January 2014 via CAUDog Records.

Originally from the mountains of Virginia, Liz has been climbing to the top of Chicago's songwriter/folk scene. Infusing sounds of the storytelling traditions of folk and jazz, Liz wrote and performed all of the songs while delivering spectacular vocals that bring to life this album "about movement, and love, and taking risks, and remembering where you come from." And, with a debut album like People Pumping Pedals, this outstanding songstress will continue her upward movement to success well into the future.

Seth Walker - Sky Still Blue

T SISTERS - KINDRED LINES

Available May 13th, 2014

It is said the deeper a tree’s roots run, the taller it can grow. For siblings Erika, Rachel, and Chloe Tietjen of the T SISTERS, their roots as songwriters are buried in a narrative of family and sisterhood, and if their debut, KINDRED LINES, is any indication, the sky is the only limit for these Bay Area sisters.

California born and raised, the Tietjens have been singing together their whole lives. “We sang together when we were little, making up songs and writing plays together in the attic of our grandparents’ house,” says the trio. “Our parents were dancers and our father is a musician, so rhythm and movement were a constant backdrop for our experience of music.” Staging original music theater productions together in college inspired Erika, Rachel and Chloe to write and arrange their own music, leading to the T Sisters.

Folk at heart, the T Sisters also draw heavily on elements of country, gospel, R&B, and fellow sibling bands like The Andrews Sisters and The Beach Boys. Produced and mentored by bluegrass legend Laurie Lewis, their debut album Kindred Lines is being released by Lewis’ record label Spruce and Maple Music. “Laurie Lewis, besides modeling beautiful playing and inspired songwriting,” say the sisters, “has lent us her vision of how to be an artist: to be led by the music and the songs themselves.” For Kindred Lines, the T Sisters enlisted a cadre of experienced musicians like Todd Phillips (Ricky Skaggs, Joan Baez, Alison Krauss), Linda Tillery(Buckwheat Zydeco, Bobby McFerrin), and Mike Marshall (Edgar Meyer, Béla Fleck, Sam Bush). As these stellar musicians weave in and out of the music, where the T Sisters truly shine is their a cappella harmonies. “The experience of singing in harmony sans instruments–that ability to hear and dig in to the way our voices resonate together–is particularly powerful for us.” Like the sirens of old, the harmonies of the T Sisters draw the listener ever closer, hinting at a deeper, more dangerous beauty. It’s a sound that’s even got luminaries like Linda Ronstadt raving!

Kindred Lines almost reads like a book or a stage play; there’s a theatrical sense of narrative rhythm and movement. It is a coming-of-age story chronicling a season of life that leads from youth (“You Don’t Know,” “Seduction of Spring”) through disillusionment and loss of innocence (“Train Wreck”) to maturity (“The Wind”). At the core of the album is the song “Molasses,” exploring the importance of family roots. The final act of the album is a chillingly beautiful a cappella rendition of Paul Simon’s “American Tune.” With it, there’s a feeling of closure to the album, the kind of feeling that comes as you move through each major phase of life, wrapped in family roots but looking forward to a new future.

With Kindred Lines, the T Sisters stand tall. Their timeless sibling harmonies intertwine with Americana and folk influences, forming a testament to family, musical traditions, and sisterly creativity nurtured since childhood. But underneath this canopy of tradition and family there’s a swift undercurrent of brazenly sassy fun and playful theatricality. With roots this deep, the T Sisters will be around for a while.

Bill Curreri - Brother

Bill Curreri’s critically-acclaimed debut album “Long Time Gone” is fast becoming one of  Rock-Americana’s hottest new records. Curreri has turned into an overnight Internet sensation and his massive online following has generated airplay on radio stations around the world. 

After a successful career spent in advertising and academia, Bill is finally getting the chance to pursue his lifelong dream of writing and playing music that is generating widespread acclaim and a growing international audience. Backed by a team that includes several Grammy award-winning musicians, Curreri is gaining considerable notoriety and attention as one of today’s most talented new artists. 

www.billcurreri.com

CATCHIN’ UP WITH BUZZ CASON - NEW ALBUM TROUBADOUR HEART OUT NOW

It’s been a busy and prosperous Spring for Americana/Roots Rock singer-songwriter Buzz Cason. With his new album climbing the charts, a national tour underway, and a healthy radio/press presence, this is the time to tune into Buzz.

His recently released 12^th album, Troubadour Heart (Plowboy Records), has been gaining chart traction, hitting #86 on the Americana Music Association Radio chart. Single “Pretend” just hit #7 on the Roots Music Folk Chart and “When I Get To California” hit #39 on the Roots Music Top 50 Americana Country Song Chart. 

Aside from Troubadour Heart, Buzz’s rich catalog of songs continues to inspire and excite. Dolly Parton’s interpretation of his tune “Don’t Drop Out” is in heavy rotation on Little Steven’s Underground Garage (Sirius/XM Channel 21). 

Annie Lennox has also been singing Buzz’s praises, recently expressing her adoration for “Everlasting Love” (a song he co-wrote with Mac Gayden, which had been covered by Robert Knight, Gloria Estefan, U2, Carl Carlton, and as a duet with Rachel Sweet and Rex Smith) on her website and Facebook page.

Buzz Cason is continuing his US tour throughout 2014 - Tour Dates

PART OF A NEW GENERATION OF RAMBLING MUSICIANS, THE ROAD IS GANN BREWER’S HOME

 New Record, Peddlers & Ghosts to be released on July 8th

Gann Brewer is a rambler…. “I was constantly touring last year, I think I crossed the country two, maybe three times, “ he surmises. But last year was no exception, Gann Brewer has been collecting stories and taking them on the road for two decades including travels to New Zealand, Egypt, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean.   “For me, it’s not just about the music, it’s also about the travel, the movin’ around from place to place, seeing old friends and meetin’ new ones.” Brewer, musically, keeps it simple. Or as he describes it, “Simplified acoustic played by a solo artist on stage that probably forgot his harmonica—which may be a good thing.” Brewer likes the recorded songs to sound as they do live, so most of the tracks are vocals and guitar with subtle mandolin, pedal steel and harmonica.

In between all of his travels, Brewer took a collection of songs to Warpaint Studios in Memphis where he recorded Peddlers & Ghosts with Jeremiah Tucker. The record is a follow-up to his 2008 self-titled debut album that was produced by Nancy Apple on her label, Ringo Records and a 2011 6 song EP, The Tacoma Sessions, which was recorded for NPR StoryCorps in an airstream trailer on the waterfront in Tacoma, WA. While his debut was a record about his world travels, Peddlers & Ghosts taps into Brewer’s experiences while traversing the American landscape and the places that feel close to home.

No surprise that he cites such influences as John Prine (who he is often compared to), Guy Clark, Mississippi John Hurt, Woody Guthrie and Hank Williams, but Brewer’s humorous and honest voice is uniquely his own. He cites his favorite ‘contemporary’ record as Lucinda Williams’ “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road”—“She really captured some’ve those ghosts down there long before HBO picked up on it.” Capturing ghosts within the music is the overriding theme for Peddlers and Ghosts. Growing up 30 miles south of Memphis, many of the songs on the album invoke Tennessee and Northwest Mississippi such as “Dancin’ in Memphis” and “Coldwater River Risin”, “I was thinking about some’ve those ghosts of the swamps when I wrote that song,” Brewer says.

“Sidewalk Slim” is an ode to the homeless people that Brewer met on his travels with the narrator, Sidewalk Slim, needing some kind of salvation and willing to take it anywhere if that will keep him warm and fed. “Dogrunner” was actually a Craig’s List Ad that Brewer had put up to attract dog-walking jobs while in New York City. “ I also taught a bit of guitar and one day I decided to make an ad for both things…then one day, I started playing a simple pattern with the ad, just as it read, “ he says, “for that reason, nothing at all rhymes in the song, but it makes people smile.” Whether they make you smile, dance or just enjoy the story, know that the songs of Gann Brewer are carved from the heart of the road.

TOUR DATES SPRING 2014

April 6th, Branded Saloon, 2pm (Brooklyn, NY)

April 12th, The Adobe Bar at The Historic Taos Inn, 4-5:30pm (Taos, NM)

April 13th, The Adobe Bar at The Historic Taos Inn, 6:30-9:30pm (Taos, NM)

April 16th, The Sail Inn, 7:30-9:00pm (Tempe, AZ)

April 19th, Lestats, 9 PM (San Diego, CA)

April 20th, Cinema Bar, 8pm  (Los Angeles, CA)

April 23rd, The Plough and the Stars, 9 PM (San Francisco, CA)

April 26th, San Gregorio General Store, 11-1 (San Gregorio, CA off Highway 1)

May 5th, Cork Cellars Wine Bar, 6-9pm (Sisters, OR)

May 18th, The Grand Ole Echo, 6:30pm (Los Angeles, CA)

May 23rd, The 1880 Union Hotel, 8-11 PM (Los Alamos, CA)

June 13th, Live in studio at Radio Parkstad, Netherlands, 5-7pm (Veendam, Holland)

Woody Pines - Who Told You

Country Legends BlackHawk On Tour Now; 1st Studio Album in 12 Years Coming July 8

Multi-platinum-selling country group BLACKHAWK recently teamed with USA Today for the premiere of their new single “Brothers of the Southland,” the band’s anthemic tribute to some of Southern music’s most iconic figures, among them Duane Allman and Ronnie Van Zant. 

The song can be heard here: http://usat.ly/1mV2VY5.

“Brothers of the Southland” is also the title track of BlackHawk’s new album, which arrives July 8 via Loud & Proud Records. Co-produced by the band (guitarist/vocalist Henry Paul and keyboardist/vocalist Dave Robbins) and Dale Oliver (Casting Crowns, Steven Curtis Chapman), Brothers Of The Southland is BlackHawk’s first studio release in 12 years.

About the single, Henry Paul says he set out to “pay respects to a collection of people that were large in my life, like the Marshall Tucker Band and Ronnie Van Zant. I talk about Ronnie’s ‘angel’s voice and devil’s smile,’ contrasting the mischievous and highly principled parts of his personality. And while I didn’t know Duane Allman, we certainly grew up revering him and losing him and Barry Oakley from the Allman Brothers was tragic. The song pulls from my childhood, too, with Southern imagery like gospel tents.”

The song “really embodies Henry’s past with these other people,” says Dave Robbins. “We’re not just paying homage to a genre of music or a geographical topic. When Henry sings about the guys from Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers and the Marshall Tucker Band, he’s talking about people he worked with and grew up with."

Players on the track include Lynyrd Skynyrd’s original guitarist Ed King (the co-writer of “Sweet Home Alabama”); Paul Riddle, the original drumer for the Marshall Tucker Band; and original Outlaws drummer Monte Yoho and current Outlaws guitarist Chris Anderson. Paul and Robbins penned the tune with Survivor’s Jim Peterik, who has some experience with anthems, having co-written “Eye of the Tiger," one of the best-selling singles of all time.

The album also includes tribute to BlackHawk’s own early-‘90s roots in the form of three unearthed demos that Paul and Robbins recorded with the band's late co-founder, Van Stephenson. "Heart With A View," Wide Open Spaces," and "Baby, The Rain Must Fall.” Robbins predicts that fans are “going to be ecstatic when they hear three little jewels featuring Van singing with us. It’s the three of us playing and singing live, with an acoustic guitar, mandolin and a piano and not a bunch of edits. We're so excited to be able to include Van's amazing voice on these songs. It makes the album that much more special.”

Paul, Robbins and Stephenson exploded onto the country music landscape in 1993 with their self-titled album and top 10 hit single “Goodbye Says It All.” Three more hit singles followed (“Every Once In A While,” “I Sure Can Smell The Rain” and “That’s Just About Right”), propelling the album to platinum status. They maintained that pace in the years that followed, scoring a dozen top ten hits, including two number ones, while selling more than seven million records. Tragedy struck in 1999 when Van was diagnosed with melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer. After a long and courageous fight, Van tragically lost his battle in 2001.

Making an artistic and commercial comeback wasn’t the only motivation for firing up the band again. “Van’s dying requests were ‘Keep BlackHawk going, because there’s a lot of great music left in the band… and do what you can do to try and help find a cure for cancer,” says Henry. To that end, he and Dave founded the Van Stephenson Memorial Fund, which raises funds for organizations like the Vanderbilt Women’s Cancer Research Center in Nashville.

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Over the years, BlackHawk’s songs have touched people young and old and their unique musical character has been a catalyst in bringing non-country music fans to the genre. Though they haven’t recorded until now, BlackHawk has continued to tour and play to packed-house audiences across the country. “Our band was always different than many or most of the other groups in our sort of category,” says Henry. “We had a little bit more of a pop lyrical sensibility that brought a lot of people that weren’t necessarily country music fans into the fold of BlackHawk fans.”

That fresh attitude toward the making of their music is certainly appreciated by the twentysomething-year-old fans (affectionately dubbed “wingnuts”) who make up much of BlackHawk’s improbably youthful audience. But it doesn’t matter which demographic they fit into: BlackHawk fans aren’t sons, uncles, dads, or nephews of the Southland, but in the end, as the title says, brothers.

For tour dates, please visit blackhawklive.com

 

About Loud & Proud Records

Loud & Proud Records is an independent record label founded in 2007 by Tom Lipsky whose mission is to provide a true and transparent partnership between artists and their record label.  Labels under Lipsky's direction in the past (CMC International, Sanctuary Records Group) have been among the market leaders in the veteran artist space with releases by Neil Young, Lynyrd Skynyrd, KISS, Robert Plant, Morrissey, Earth Wind & Fire, The Allman Brothers Band, Widespread Panic, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Bad Company and more.  In a previous joint-venture with Roadrunner Records, Loud & Proud was responsible for new albums by Rush, Lenny Kravitz, Rob Zombie, Lynyrd Skynyrd, KISS, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and The Steve Miller Band.  Loud & Proud’s current roster includes five-time Emmy Award winning actor and musician Jonathan Jackson and his band Enation, supergroup rock band The Winery Dogs, renowned jam band The String Cheese Incident, multi-platinum country artists BlackHawk, Seattle’s alternative Walking Papers, critically-acclaimed singer/songwriter Willie Nile, powerhouse rockers KIX and the classic Starship featuring Mickey Thomas.  Loud & Proud Records is a registered trademark of Lipsky Music, LLC, and is distributed in the U.S. and Canada by RED and in the rest of the world by earMUSIC/Edel AG.

http://www.loudandproudrecords.com